Japan’s Ban On Same-Sex Marriage Has Been Found To Be Unconstitutional For A Second Time
Japan is the only G7 nation that does not recognize same-sex marriages.
A second court in Japan has found the country’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
In Japan, the constitution defines marriage as one of “mutual consent between both sexes,” which has been has been commonly understood as not permitting same-sex marriage, according to the BBC.
However, on Tuesday May 30, a court in Nagoya district ruled that the ban was unconstitutional after a male same-sex couple filed a lawsuit in 2019 when they were unable to register as a married couple.
The decision is the second to find the ban unconstitutional.
In 2021, a district court in Sapporo also found the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
However, in June 2022, a court in Osaka reversed that ruling and ruled against three same-sex couples who filed for the right to marry, noting that Japan had not had a proper public debate on the subject.
The couple in Nagoya had also demanded one million yen (US$7,100) per person as compensation for services and benefits that married couples are entitled to.
The court denied them compensation, but it agreed that the ban was unconstitutional.
During the verdict, the judge said that the reasoning for excluding same-sex couples from the legal marriage system is becoming “shaky” as more people have become supportive of same-sex marriage, leading to a situation that is “difficult to ignore”, Kyodo News reported.
This is the first time that a ruling has stated which articles of the constitution the ban on same-sex marriage violates, according to Kyodo News.
“This ruling has rescued us from the hurt of last year’s ruling that said there was nothing wrong with the ban, and the hurt of what the government keeps saying,” the couple’s lawyer told journalists, according to Reuters.
Japan is the only G7 nation that does not recognize same-sex marriages.
In May 2022, Tokyo joined more than 200 municipalities across Japan in issuing proof-of-relationship credentials for LGBTQ couples as a way to make life simpler for them.
The partnership documents are not the equivalent of a marriage certificate but can be used to apply for private and public governmental services, according to Bloomberg.
Activists hope that the latest ruling will pressure the government into finally legalizing same-sex marriage.
